KABUL, Afghanistan - The brother of Mullah Mohammad Omar on Sunday joined a growing chorus of opposition to the opaque selection of the late Taliban leader's successor, indicating widening rifts within the militant group as it weighs whether to revive peace talks or intensify its 14-year insurgency in Afghanistan.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghan Taliban has confirmed the death of its reclusive longtime leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, after the Kabul government reported that he had been dead for more than two years. The move has led to a leadership crisis in the Taliban, as Mullah Omar's longtime deputy takes the helm over the objection of the former leader's relatives.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The new leader of the Afghan Taliban faces the twin challenges of bringing together an insurgency that he ran for years under another man's name and uniting a fractured movement that has seen fighters desert for more extreme groups such as the Islamic State. Meanwhile, the Afghan government believes it can seize on the Taliban leadership crisis it has created by announcing that Mullah Mohammad Omar has been dead for more than two years to further weaken the insurgency.

WASHINGTON - The White House says U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that former Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar is dead, and says his demise "represents a chance for yet more progress on the path to a stable, secure Afghanistan."

Mullah Mohammad Omar, the secretive head of the Taliban and an al-Qaida ally who led a bloody insurgency against U.S.-led forces, eluded capture for more than a decade in spite of being one of the most-hunted fugitives on Earth.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan asserted Wednesday that the Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, died more than two years ago in a Pakistani hospital - an announcement that injects new uncertainty into the country's fragile peace process.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is finalizing preparations to host the second round of landmark peace talks between Afghan government officials and the Taliban later this week, two Pakistani officials said Tuesday.